Shireen Mazari challenges Hillary venom against Pakistan

HILLARY Clinton's love affair with Pakistan was short-lived. Back in the US she flatly denied the charge that India was sparking unrest in Balochistan. She also observed that since Pakistan could criticise the Kerry-Lugar Bill, the US also had the right to protest Al-Qaeda's presence on its land and demand action against it. Furthermore, she went to the extent of saying that Islamabad had gone into the fight against militancy of its own accord out of the threat it faced from the terrorists.

The tone and tenor of her words convey the usual tendency of viewing Pakistan with a jaundiced eye. Keeping in view her trip, her interaction with people from all walks of life, many fell prey to wishful thinking. Some might have even assumed her assurance of turning a new page on Pak-US relations was genuine. Her posturing has now brought all those living in a fool's paradise back to reality. But the sight of the US Secretary of State or any other official for that matter spewing venom against
Pakistan should not worry us anymore. This is part and parcel of the old practice of ditching and stabbing us in the back. On the Kerry-Lugar Act, far from accepting the fact that the Act runs counter to our sovereignty, she further upped the ante by badmouthing Pakistan as a terrorist safe-haven.

So far as her statement that it is Pakistan's own war, the truth is that soon after the 9/11 we had gone along with the US literally at gunpoint. The country was warned either it was with the US or with the terrorists. And slowly but surely, we were sucked into a deadly maelstrom. Suicide attacks became more frequent afterwards. The US then forced us into signing our death warrants by compelling us to
resort to the use of force rather than dialogue with the tribals. To add insult to injury, it started bombing our tribal areas in violation of our sovereignty and international law. The real purpose was to brush its failure in Afghanistan under the carpet. Focusing on Pakistan and labelling it as the centre of all terrorist activity was a much more convenient way of doing away with the 'Afghanistan syndrome'. Equally distressing was to see her laugh away the Balochistan crisis and India's role in it.

Couldn't she recall US Gen Stanley McChrystal, who had observed that increasing Indian influence in Afghanistan would exacerbate regional tensions and would encourage Pakistan into countermeasures?

At this point in time, if our leaders look around, there is no dearth of countries, which have carried themselves with integrity and grace in their relationship with the US. A rethink of our 'friendship' with the US is definitely in order.